Budgeting Loan
What is a Budgeting Loan?
This is money which you may be able to borrow under certain circumstances to help pay for certain things.
Click the links to go straight down to more information:
What is a budgeting loan?
When can I claim?
How much is a budgeting loan?
How to claim
Repaying the loan
• It is an interest-free loan, which can be paid to help you buy or pay for certain things. These are:
• furniture and household equipment
• clothing and footwear
• rent in advance and/or removal expenses to secure fresh accommodation
• improvement, maintenance and security of the home
• travelling expenses
• expenses associated with seeking or re-entering work
• HP and other debts (for expenses associated with the things in the list above)
When can I claim?
If you are currently receiving
• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance
or payments on account of one of these benefits, and have been receiving it for at least six months.
You can’t get a Budgeting Loan if you are involved in industrial action (for example, a strike, walkout or lockout) or you already owe more than £1,500 in total for Crisis Loans and Budgeting Loans.
If you are on Universal Credit, you should apply for a Budgeting Advance instead.
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How much is a Budgeting Loan?
The lowest amount you can borrow is £100
• A single person can get up to £348
• A couple can get up to £464
• If you or your partner claim Child Benefit, you can borrow as much as £812
Additional notes
• The urgency of your need and any health problems that you or your family may have are NOT taken into account.
• You will not be awarded more than you have asked for. You may be awarded less. It will depend in part whether you are considered to be able to pay it back.
• If you have savings of more than £1,000 and are under 63, or have savings of more than £2,000 and are over 63, this will affect the amount of the award.
• You cannot owe more than £1500, so if you have received loans in the past which you are still repaying, this may have an impact on what you can receive.
If your debt to the fund is already £1500, you can’t receive any Budgeting Loan.
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How to claim
You can download a claim form here. (the link will open in a new browser window)
Alternatively, you can get a claim form, SF500, from your local Jobcentre Plus office.
Repaying the Loan
• Normally, money will be deducted from the benefits you receive, to repay your loan
• If you stop receiving benefits, you will need to find another way to repay the loan
• Standard repayment rates are 5%, 10% or 12% of weekly Income Support/Jobseeker’s Allowance, less housing costs, depending on your other commitments
• Loans are repaid consecutively, i.e. any earlier loan is repaid in full before payment begins on a later loan
• The standard repayment period is 104 weeks (2 years)
• You may be offered a choice of loan amounts and repayment rates
• Repayment terms are set by the Jobcentre Plus office. The terms of repayment can be changed by agreement but there is no right to an Inspector’s review on these matters
Anyone having difficulty with their repayment rate should contact their Jobcentre Plus office to see if the loan can be rescheduled.
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